Spirit of the Woods

Down Deep

Down Deep

Lungmen Sewers

Before the stab could connect with her stomach, Firewatch, in a split-second decision, placed her hand in front of the attack. Her face contorted into pain as the shiv pierced through her hand, stopping mere inches from her.

"Tch.." Without giving her assailant time to pull it out and attack again, she grasped the attacking arm with her other hand and disarmed them. In a swift motion, she pulled her attacker from the darkness and pinned them against the ground.

Firewatch's eyes burned yellow as she unsheathed her kukri. Before she could retaliate, Jacob held her unhurt hand. "Sofia, stop! Look for a second!" Firewatch blinked twice as Jacob shined his light on her assailant's face, revealing a boy who barely looked twelve.

Her eyes slowly went back to normal as she lessened her grip on the kid but still retained her kukri.

"Why did you attack me? We're just passing through, brat!" Firewatch growled. The kid kept quiet as his face was pressed into the ground.

Jacob grasped Firewatch's shoulder this time. "Sofia... Let him up. I'll talk to him. Patch yourself up." Firewatch gave him one last look before standing up and kicking the shiv into the sewage. Jacob walked up to the boy as Firewatch took a step back and openly brandished her kukri. Even if he's a boy, she won't let her guard down.

"What's your name, kid?" started Jacob asked as he crouched down. "We're not here to hurt you." The kid didn't say anything as the kid started behind him. Without turning around, Jacob knew where he was looking. "Firewatch... please put your weapon away and clean your wound." Firewatch could only glare as she sheathed her blade and pulled a roll of bandages from her bag. Jacob turned back to the kid. "Don't worry about my companion. She was just a little worried about what had happened. How about we introduce ourselves?"

"Is she going to be alright?" the kid whispered nervously.

Jacob turned around and chuckled as he watched Firewatch wrap up her wound. "She had worse. Don't worry, she'll only be mad for a short bit. So, what is your name?"

"Adam." The boy responded

Jacob smiled, "Ok, Adam. What are you doing down here?"

Before he could answer, they could hear multiple pairs of footsteps running towards them. Firewatch immediately aimed her crossbow as Jacob pointed his flashlight, revealing a group of ragged people. "Who are you people and what are doing with my son?!" one of them, which Jacob assumed was the mother. Behind her were other people armed with an assortment of trash for weapons.

Firewatch nudged her crossbow forward. "What are YOU doing down here? Your son attacked us first!" The woman at the lead of the group inched backward as everyone behind her raised their weapons.

"Sofia! Stand down! They're only civilians!" Jacob yelled. Firewatch and the group of civilians refused to yield and kept their weapons up. Jacob stood up, holding up his hands in a bid to separate them. "There's been a misunderstanding. We're Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals and we were just passing through when your son attacked my companion," he pointed at the bandage on the sniper's hand, "She only defended herself, but left your son relatively unhurt. We don't want anyone else to get hurt now."

The two sides look warily at each other for a second before the woman spoke again."Is what he said is true, Adam?"

"I'm sorry!" the boy cried out. "I didn't mean to do it. I was scared." With that confession, the tension between the two dropped immediately. Firewatch lowered her crossbow as the group lowered their weapons.